Gucci Horsebits for Derby Winners

Finding, curating, and selling quality goods, while educating guys on what it is they’re actually buying, is Bureau of Trade’s mission and one they do quite well. Each week the site is bringing GQ readers thoughtfully selected items for all of life’s needs. Up today: knowing your fashion footwear icons

In case you happened to over-julep it this weekend and were passed out in a rocking chair on the verandah of a white (in both senses of the word) Southern mansion, Orb won the Kentucky Derby on Sunday. The horse, whose very name implies a certain aerodynamic advantage, won handily. Today we’re celebrating in our own way with the iconic Gucci horsebit design--a true thoroughbred of couture branding. First released in 1953 as a decal on loafers, it quickly appeared on the feet of such high-steppers as John Wayne (between boots), Clark Gable (between babes) and Fred Astaire (between ballet flats). The shoes are considered so meaningful to 20th-century fashion that they appear in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (For those hard-core equestrians and/or S&M enthusiasts among us, it is a "snaffle"-style bit).

If the Met saw a classic, the House of Gucci saw a blockbuster--and incorporated the horsebit into its full line of leather goods and accessories. We’ve collected a smart smattering of horsebit-festooned items at palatable price points for any reputable gentleman eager to part with some of his winnings at the track. Don’t jockey for position. Just gallop and go. --Micah Fitzerman-Blue

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